


Once on a meadow

by moon_island



Series: The Love and Woes of Humans and Youkai [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Deer Youkai Tooru, Drama, Irihata plays Hajime's maternal grandfather, M/M, Youkai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_island/pseuds/moon_island
Summary: One fall an unlikely and rare friendship blossoms, between a human boy and a young youkai. But Hajime's complicated family situation might nip it in the bud.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Iwaizumi Hajime/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: The Love and Woes of Humans and Youkai [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986211
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Once on a meadow

The monsters plaguing Hajime weren't a figment of his imagination and the rising sun couldn't banish them. They came and went when it pleased them. While his parents couldn't see them, his mother felt them and his father saw the damage and harm they caused, so neither could give him a pat on the head and assure him there was nothing to be scared of. Maybe they were even more scared than him, so Hajime kept it to himself that he saw a woman with an unnaturally long neck once at night, among other things, when he returned home with his father from the konbini. It had freaked him out, but since his father didn't react likewise, he thought he was just seeing things.

Of course, he eventually figured out that wasn't the case and it was made especially clear when the monsters started bothering them. Sometimes objects went missing, like keys or money. Other times there was a knock at the front door, but there was no one outside. Hajime's mother started getting headaches or feeling exhausted, claiming the room was stuffy. She got jumpy and started flinching for no apparent reason. When Hajime was around, he could see creatures messing with her. He ran over and swatted at them furiously. That was the moment his parents realized their son hadn't just inherited his mother's sensitivity, but his abilities went far beyond that.

And he put the blame on himself when the harmless pranks turned more elaborate and less mischievous, but dangerous. Hajime figured he hadn't just revealed himself to his parents, but the creatures as well and they delighted in it because it meant they could do so much more.

His parents became frantic and didn't allow him out of their sight, so he missed school a lot when it got really nasty. Hajime hated it because the children at school noticed something was going on and the heightened curiosity in him quickly became avoidance. Thankfully, they didn't tease him. At least not to his face. He still held it against them, especially his so-called friends, but now looking back, it must have been plain instinct. It also didn't help that Hajime sometimes couldn't resist and retaliated against the creature, _youkai_ he knew by now, who thought they could mess with him and get away with it. He was known as the weirdo with bad behavior in no time. And if the children had avoided him of their own volition before, now their parents probably forbid them from interacting with him. Lots of misunderstandings ensued.

His parents probably hoped the youkai would eventually grow bored and leave, but they didn't. It became clear that these youkai didn't just have an interest in them because they were weak prey that reacted to them, but at least for some it went much deeper. Like humans the youkai gossiped among each other and so it kept on escalating till one dawn Hajime and his parents found themselves escaping to an elusive maternal grandfather after a powerful and malevolent youkai came to their house. They got away with no more than a fright, thankfully, but enough was enough. He threatened them if they didn't do his bidding.

Hajime was still in too much shock to cry or say anything, and his parents were the same. Maybe his mother didn't even feel anything right now. She kept on muttering something unintelligible when she didn't give his father directions. They made no stops and his father gave up asking after one try. She refused him, telling him, _ordering_ him to bring her to her father or she'll do it. She didn't sound small or helpless to Hajime. There was firm conviction and determination in her voice conveying that they wouldn't be safe until they reached her father's house. It was going to be their safe haven. Hajime's father seemed reluctant, but he did as he was told and followed her directions. Otherwise there was no conversation to be had. Something akin to a stone lay in Hajime's stomach and on his heart. He wondered if they would stay at his mother's childhood home from now on and if it was going to be good for them. Considering the conflicting emotions flitting over his parents' faces, the tenseness of their bodies, he was unsure.

When Hajime calmed down, his bladder and stomach made themselves noticeable, but he didn't dare speak up. He distracted himself by looking outside. There wasn't much to see though, he noticed begrudgingly. The area became really rural, houses started to be such a distance away from each other that Hajime wondered if that was still considered a village.

It was a gloomy morning, too, the mist was so dense that he couldn't see far on either side. Thanks to his mother's tired directions though he knew they were headed toward a more mountainous place. Soon enough trees started to appear on both side's of the car until the road led through woodland. It was an eerie sight, and Hajime thought the absence of the stubborn mist and the heavy rain wouldn't make it better. That said, Hajime felt a strange pull toward it and he had the startling impulse to get out of the car and run into it. Fortunately, the child safety lock was activated or the day could have taken an even uglier turn.

When his mother announced that it'd be only a few more minutes, the midday sun magically dispersed the last remnants of the mist and rain. Hajime who had been dozing off, was now a little baffled at the forest to their left. Even though it was late fall, all the leaves were still a vivid green. He didn't know much about trees, but some on the left seemed to be mirrored on the right, with the difference they were green on the left whereas they were yellow, red or orange on the right. He had started to pay close attention to his mother when something was a little extraordinary. She seemed to feel things before he saw them, and something was going on, but maybe not something necessarily bad. She sighed in relief and her body seemed to relax, she even looked back to him smiling. Hajime returned it.

It said a lot about his grandfather, Irihata Nobuteru, that he welcomed them with open arms, even though they came unannounced after almost a decade of no contact (which is Hajime's conclusion since he'd never heard about this grandfather). There was tension between son-in-law and father-in-law, so perhaps there lay the problem. At first they exchanged nothing but a cold greeting, and really, nothing more. Hajime's mother did the talking. Throughout the week, it felt like they slowly warmed up somewhat to each other. Father and daughter had acted a little awkward with each other, but quickly overcame it. Unlike his father, Hajime got along with his grandfather as if they had known each other for forever. Hajime was rather quiet, but assertive child after all.

The family gave themselves a week to just forget for the time being and recuperate before facing the issue. What led to this vacation and family reunion hadn't been pleasant, but it was great. Here Hajime was allowed to go play on the meadow, only the meadow, and no further than the small creek, behind the traditional home without adult supervision. Even though he hadn't grown up in a rural area, Hajime had always been a nature-boy, so this was heaven. There were no playmates his age around, but it was no different from home now....His grandfather also kept him from growing bored or lonely.

The elephant in the room wanted to be addressed eventually. After a small argument, it was decided it was going to happen without Hajime, for now, even though Nobuteru stressed the importance of Hajime's presence since he had the most to gain from learning about youkai. But he was overruled, and seemed unwilling to test them.

“I don't want Hajime to endure the same childhood I had to endure,” his mother said. “I want them gone and forgotten.”

“Yeah, forgotten. You have forgotten a lot of the things I taught you as a child, haven't you?”

Hajime was shoved out the door before he could hear anymore.

Since he was a boy quick to aggravate, but incapable of holding a grudge, he stomped out as loudly as he could to demonstrate his displeasure, but calmed down soon enough and played peacefully by the small creek.

It was on this day that Hajime met Tooru, although he didn't learn his name until a little later. As aforementioned, Hajime played by himself with his Godzilla figurine when he noticed a presence. He turned around and spotted a small face among the high grass. Hajime was about to greet the other child when he noticed something peculiar about it. He had small antlers on his head. Their eyes met and both stood there frozen for a heartbeat. The creature came to first, and made a run for it. He changed into a fawn mid-run, a few powerful movements of his legs and he vanished in the woods. Unlike an actual fawn, however, it was lighter in color, making him somewhat look like a ghostly apparition in the dark, maybe. Hajime ran straight home when his own legs were able to carry him again.

He didn't mention the encounter to his parents. Maybe he should have, but he didn't.

That evening, however, Hajime played shogi with his grandfather. His parents had called it a day early, probably to digest whatever they had learned. Either young Hajime had been shockingly transparent or his grandfather had a keen eye, either way, he noticed something was up with Hajime. He wasn't an overly talkative child, lively for sure, if a little introverted. Still, being brooding silently during their game was a first.

“What's going on, boy? Looks like your little head's about to explode.”

Hajime didn't react immediately and now Nobuteru was truly concerned, after all, he had proven to react easily to provocation.

“Spill it,” Nobuteru prompted, not unkindly.

“Uh,” Hajime started, biting his lips. “Today when I was outside to play, I saw a boy.”

His grandfather raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I take it, it wasn't an ordinary boy? Because in these parts, ordinary boys don't live.”

Hajime's eyes grew large, and perhaps it relieved him that his grandfather caught on immediately. “Yeah! I thought he was human, he had antlers though and they looked very much attached to his head. He also changed into a fawn in front of me.”

“Oh,” Nobuteru retorted. “A youkai, huh?”

Hajime nodded.

“It's been a while since I last saw one. My senses dulled somewhat in regard to youkai, I'm afraid. I used to feel their presence still inside the house, but now I have to be really close...”

Judging by his grandfather's reaction, Hajime supposed the meeting wasn't the beginning of another catastrophe.

“Are some youkai okay?”

“For sure. Youkai are the same as humans in that regard, they have a lot of black sheep, but there are good people among them,” Nobuteru said. “I had the pleasure of having friends among them.”

Hajime stared at him in awe. “Really?”

“Yeah. But like with humans, you need to be careful with your trust.”

It was another week later, and Hajime looked at the forest warily. Despite his grandfather's assurance it was probably fine, he had kept closer to the house the past week just to be sure. Today it was the day he had dared to inch closer to the creek again to play with the little wooden boat his grandfather had gifted him. Then he had heard a scream. It was followed by distressed cries. His mother knew of the youkai that were said to live there, so she had strictly forbidden him from entering it.

“Really,” she said, “I wouldn't want you inside that forest regardless of youkai. You may get lost.”

And to be fair, Hajime hadn't protested since he still remembered that moment in the car vividly. It also was that strange evergreen forest, too. There was definitely something supernatural about these woods. But the wailing grew ever louder and more desperate. It sounded like a hurt child. It might be a trick, a voice chided him, sounding like his mother's. Hajime braced himself though, then followed the wailing. Fortunately, the voice didn't lead him deep into the forest.

“Please get me out of here,” it was the young youkai from last time.

“You aren't going to eat me once I get closer, right?”

Man, he was as pretty as he was an ugly crier. But he had a good reason to be shaken up this much, Hajime realized after checking. His ankle had been caught in a metal trap. The sight didn't do his stomach any good. It was a true miracle his leg had withstood the force with which the trap must have snapped.

“I don't eat meat,” the youkai retorted a bit angrily. “I should be worried about _you._ You are a scary kid.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you set this trap?”

“No way! And why am I the scary one? You sneaked up on me last time, you creep,” Hajime spat, already quite fed up with the attitude. He took a deep breath to not boil over. The youkai was in pain and probably couldn't think straight, Hajime told himself.

The youkai pursed his lips. He had gotten quiet, maybe afraid Hajime would leave him to his own devices. “Please help me, I'm sorry for what I said.”

“I will!” Hajime tried for a soft smile to reassure and calm down the other. “But I don't think I'm strong enough to open the trap.”

He promptly turned around.

“Wait! You said you would try to help me.”

“I'll get my grandpa; he's as strong as a bull despite his age.”

To his surprise, the youkai's face got even paler. “You mean you will get Irihata?!”

“Don't be scared, he's a great guy. Anyway, wasting time here. Don't cry for help anymore, you don't know who might hear you.”

He ran before the youkai got around to say another thing. His lungs were on fire when he finally reached the house. Luckily, his parents had left earlier.

“Grandpa!” He screamed. “Help!”

Nobuteru was out the door in a flash.

“Are you hurt?” His eyes flitted over his grandson's body, heaving a sigh of relief when he found nothing.

“No,” Hajime replied breathless. “The youkai I met on the meadow though...”

After grabbing a few tools they might need and a medical kit they would definitely need, Hajime led his grandfather to the youkai who was half-way into unconsciousness. When he saw Hajime's grandfather, he tried to back off, but it was impossible, of course. Nobuteru cooed at him, telling him to calm down, assuring him that he was about to help him, not harm him further.

“You poor thing,” Nobuteru said, holding a wide piece of wood in front of his face. “Please bite down on this. I'm not sure if you'd die from a bitten through tongue, but we don't want to try it, do we?”

The youkai hesitantly followed the instruction, even accepted the herbal pain killers Nobuteru had brought along. They waited for them to kick in, and it seemed to take forever until his grandfather thought it was okay to go on. Hajime was glad the rest of the ordeal was over with quickly.

“I think it's broken,” Nobuteru said as his finger prodded the ankle. It was bleeding already, but it eventually got blue and swollen as well. “I can do some first aid here, but I would have to bring you to my home to do more...”

A beat of silence. Nobuteru hummed thoughtfully. “I guess it would be best to bring you to your parents...” Upon seeing Tooru's pout, clearly struggling to not cry again, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Uhh...or whoever is responsible of you, I mean, you are still pretty small...uhh...”

“Tooru,” the youkai, Tooru, answered in a weak voice.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” Hajime instantly chimed in.

“Oi, you two, never give a human or a youkai respectively your names. Names hold great power.”

“It is the 21th century, gramps, I think it is quite easy to find out a name anyway.”

“At least Tooru should be careful.”

Tooru's face was filled with regret, and his eyes brimmed with tears again.

“Ah, don't cry, your name is save with us.”

He started to trust Hajime, it seemed. “Okay...Iwa-chan.”

“Now, lead the way to your caretakers, okay?”

Still, Tooru showed reluctance. “They might get really, really angry with me if I bring humans to our dwelling. It doesn't matter that you say I can trust you two.”

“Don't you think they'll be happy as long as you're back again? I'm sure they're worrying for you this second, maybe even looking for you as we speak.”

“No, they won't be looking for me yet,” Tooru said, but based on his expression he didn't say that in defiance. “It isn't even dark.” As if that was a sound reason. Hajime knew his parents would be out of their mind if they hadn't seen him for an hour around the house. At the stunned expression of Hajime and Nobuteru, he added, “I told them I was with friends.”

“Anyway, we need to get you home and treated properly.”

Tooru finally relented and accepted having Nobuteru carry him. They barely spoke since the pain killers had left Tooru somewhat sedated, only finding the will to give directions. Both grandfather and grandson were glad the young youkai hadn't ended up where he was because he got lost.

During their walk Hajime felt eyes on them constantly, but nobody interrupted them and Hajime couldn't see anyone he let his eyes rove around. They kept their distance. Were they scared of humans? Considering his past experience with youkai, Hajime had a hard time to believe that. Was it because of his grandfather? Was his grandfather some frightening entity to youkai? Or at least used to be? He recalled Tooru's reaction to mentioning his grandfather, and the threats of the youkai back home.

Eventually Tooru made them stop, and as if feeling the presence of their son, a pair of sika deer stepped out from the bushes. They changed into a woman and a man. Both looked almost ethereal, even though the kimono they wore were rather modest in color and pattern. Earthy tones with forest motifs. Like Tooru's, their hair and eyes were shades of brown. Conflicting feelings flitted across their faces. Happiness to see their son, wariness of Hajime and his grandfather.

“You have brought our son to us,” the man spoke. Hajime admired his build. Similar to his son, he had been much lighter in color than ordinary sika deer, he was also taller. His human part was muscular, and looked like he could snap Hajime in half. He had some impressive antlers atop his head, grown among hair a shade similar to his son's, only slightly darker, whereas the mother's hair was a lighter brown.

Hajime's grandfather softly laid Tooru down on the gras in front of them.

“Tooru,” his mother said. “Did they harm you?”

“No!” Hajime protested. “That idiot got himself caught in a trap and we saved him.”

But he was smoothly ignored, he wasn't even worth a glance. _Huh. Arrogant bunch, aren't you?_

“No, they didn't harm me, mother,” Tooru said, seemingly a little intimated by his parent's presence. Hajime wondered if it was just his nature. “As he said, I was caught in a trap and they found me, and in the end helped get me back here.”

The father's gaze fell on Hajime and his grandfather. “I see,” he said. “I thank you for your kindness. So I see you can see us, you must be Irihata-san then. I advise you to leave our forest now and never return. This is no place for humans, and since I am grateful to you, I will lead you back outside, otherwise I can't guarantee for your safety. You and your family aren't welcome here.”

His grandfather nodded slowly. Maybe, Hajime thought, he had hoped for a little time they would grant him to speak to them. Hajime had witnessed how excited his grandfather had been about Tooru's entrance in Hajime's life. Maybe he missed seeing and talking to youkai. Was it hard for him to have been cut off, or abandoned even? He was a single old man living alone in the forest, the next neighbors far away.

Hajime thought this chapter of his life was closed. His short little adventure finished. That he would never see or hear of Tooru again.

“Iwa-chan!”

He turned around quickly and saw Tooru sprinting towards him. It was still a bit weird to know a creature half-human, half-animal. Weirder even, how cute Hajime found him. If his classmates and friends back home knew, they would think he was a freak. Then again, some of the boys had found it cute when girls wore cat ears, so they happened to be actual antlers, so what?

Except for Nobuteru, he knew no one else who could see youkai. And except for his grandfather, his mother and father, for all he knew, no one else even knew of their existence. It left Hajime feeling exhilarated. It was like he was in on some secret that he had to hold onto and protect.

“Hey, didn't expect to see you again,” Hajime greeted. Completely healed, mind you. Hajime just accepted it. After all, Tooru wasn't human, so obviously he wouldn't heal like a human. He was happy for that. A broken limp, and Hajime spoke from experience, sucked. “You're fine again, good for you! Are you allowed to be here?” Hajime swiftly looked over the area in fear of spotting either of Tooru's parents or even worse both.

“Not exactly,” Tooru admitted sheepishly.

“What do you mean by that, you idiot? You might get us both in trouble!”

“So mean! Well, they didn't say I couldn't go to see you again, and anyway, I haven't shown gratitude myself, even though your grandfather and you saved my life. If you hadn't come for me, maybe another youkai would have ended up eating me. I owe you.”

“Not at all! It's all good. But your annoying, loud whining and wailing was really the worst thing to do, you know? You got really lucky, Tooru.” Hajime badly wanted to give himself a pat on the back for his mature words.

“I know,” Tooru said. “Would you mind if we became friends?”

Hajime laughed. “What happened to 'you're a scary kid'?”

“I was wrong about that, you're actually pretty kind and brave. So what do you say, Iwa-chan?”

“We'll have to talk about that nickname,” Hajime responded, rolling his eyes. “Having a youkai friend? Sounds good to me.”

From then on they met up almost every day, except when the weather wasn't having it. It was fall after all. Hajime told his parents nothing of the other boy, knowing they _will_ forbid him from seeing Tooru. He only confided in his grandfather who encouraged the friendship. Tooru did the same with his parents, even though he wasn't sure if they didn't already suspect something.

It went without saying that they couldn't really meet up on the meadow around the house. Hajime's parents would get suspicious if they saw him talking to himself and chasing something invisible to them. Nobuteru, bless him, had his back. Hajime was young, so he didn't worry what it would mean for his grandfather if the truth came out. That was how the three of them took a walk through the forest and found every day another spot to spent their time. They had pick-nicks, built paper boats for the creek, studied bugs and one time made flower crowns. No day was the same or boring. It didn't last though. Those great days.

Eventually, Hajime's parents found out and it was his fault because he mentioned Tooru by accident in front of them at dinner. There had been no way to explain it away. Coincidently they had found someone to rid their house of the youkai plague, and now you can imagine how utterly displeased, no furious they were at the fact that Hajime had been in contact with youkai behind their back. His mother and father were certain that youkai spelt trouble. All of them. And once they figured out what Hajime had been up to, it wasn't difficult for them to deduce his grandfather's involvement. And boy, if Hajime thought his parents were furious with him, he had no clue yet what true fury was. Hajime had never been afraid of his parents before, and even though it wasn't directed at him, they still hurt him. He felt hurt for his grandfather's sake.

“Father, are you out of your mind? Here we are trying everything to ban youkai from our lives and you let Hajime _befriend_ one?”

“What if it causes harm. This youkai certainly isn't worth the risk. Unbelievable!”

“Hajime could have died! I'm sick of your irresponsible behavior! You've always been this way! That's why mother and I left in the first place. Don't drag our son down with you.”

“If something had happened to Hajime, I would - “ His father bit his tongue. “That's it. We're leaving. We should have never come here.”

Hajime was disappointed his grandfather uttered not a single word in his defense. He just accepted the fact that they verbally chopped him to pieces as if he had been expecting this outcome. His parents were adamant about a few things. Hajime would never see his grandfather again for as long as they had a say in the matter. He swore, however, as soon as he was old enough he would return and visit both his grandfather and Tooru.

For now, however, he didn't get to say goodbye to Tooru. Not in person, all he could do was leave a note for him. At least, his parents didn't deny him a farewell with his grandfather, so they got to hug tightly. They didn't say a single thing to Nobuteru, treating him like air before they left. As if he himself had become a creature they couldn't see. Hajime watched his grandfather for as long as he could when they drove off, swearing he would be back. During the ride, Hajime discovered a few things his grandfather had smuggled into his bag. Ancient looking books, a newly carved wooden deer and a picture of Hajime and Nobuteru. He sobbed. “You were nasty,” he hissed quietly, unsure if he wanted his parents to hear him or not. They didn't react.

Little did Hajime know, it was the last he would see his grandfather alive. Once the youkai back home were taken care of by an exorcist, his parents started to soften up and realized that perhaps they had been too hard on Nobuteru due to their stress. The day his mother decided to call her father, she received a call instead. Nobuteru had been found dead in his home by acquaintances who had become worried after not having seen nor heard from him for an entire month.

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled with this story. At first it wrote itself easily, then it didn't. I realized it was going to be bigger than I could handle at the time I intially started it, so I put it aside and eventually it'd be best to shelf it. I went back and forth from then on. Now I'm ready to tackle it. It's also almost done, but I'll be doing heavy revisions on it anyway and add a few things.  
> I think uploading it as series rather than a full-on fanfiction lessens the pressure on me a little. The parts won't come out on a fixed schedule.  
> This is sort of a prologue to the story and I'll spoil it here and say that the endgame relationship is Ushiiwaoi. Rating can change from part to part. I tagged it with the ships already, so people may find it already, even if this first part isn't about that yet. I hope nobody takes an issue with that. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
